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I doubt anyone thinks we won't win more games this year than last. Even last year's team would have had several more wins with the easier schedule, though I think everyone agrees this year's team is better and deeper. But you are right, that the many years of losing has really done severe damage to Bradley's tradition and their once loyal fan base. Drawing 5,300 to watch a good opponent may be good for 8 of the other 9 MVC teams, it would have been unheard of just 4-5 years ago.
I still recall some people complaining when the attendance fell to under 9,000 with the unfortunate 2010-11 season when the administration fired the 2 assistants, and manipulated things to deprive the team of its 2 best players. As bad as that season was, we never saw attendance numbers drop within thousands of where they are now. And people said it could not possibly get any worse. I predicted it would take years to get back to where we were, and that we might never recover from the damaging changes the previous administration forced down the throats of the fans, and I was mocked for my predictions, which all turned out to be right.
Fans are just tired of the losing, but just as much the fans are tired of the bad play, poor shooting, poor passing, and other facets of the game that should be correctable. There are way fewer fans left now than there were 5 years ago, and many will never be back. But I have talked to many of the remaining fans, and they are very close to giving up and not renewing their tickets. The price of tickets and maintenance is just way too much for the quality of play we are seeing. The ones I have talked to are all developing other interests and they just no longer care about Bradley like they once did. I guess that will be the legacy of the previous administration and the Board that brought them and stayed with them way too long. But it needs to get a lot better quickly or we are going to see attendance numbers like Drake's soon. They filled their arena as recently as 2008 (7,000+), but now are averaging around 2,500 per game at home).
I still recall some people complaining when the attendance fell to under 9,000 with the unfortunate 2010-11 season when the administration fired the 2 assistants, and manipulated things to deprive the team of its 2 best players. As bad as that season was, we never saw attendance numbers drop within thousands of where they are now. And people said it could not possibly get any worse. I predicted it would take years to get back to where we were, and that we might never recover from the damaging changes the previous administration forced down the throats of the fans, and I was mocked for my predictions, which all turned out to be right.
Fans are just tired of the losing, but just as much the fans are tired of the bad play, poor shooting, poor passing, and other facets of the game that should be correctable. There are way fewer fans left now than there were 5 years ago, and many will never be back. But I have talked to many of the remaining fans, and they are very close to giving up and not renewing their tickets. The price of tickets and maintenance is just way too much for the quality of play we are seeing. The ones I have talked to are all developing other interests and they just no longer care about Bradley like they once did. I guess that will be the legacy of the previous administration and the Board that brought them and stayed with them way too long. But it needs to get a lot better quickly or we are going to see attendance numbers like Drake's soon. They filled their arena as recently as 2008 (7,000+), but now are averaging around 2,500 per game at home).
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